Chapter II Practice Quiz — Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter II
Why does Lockwood decide to visit Wuthering Heights a second time in Chapter 2?
A servant extinguishes the fire in his study while cleaning, driving him out of the house, so he walks four miles to the Heights.
Who finally lets Lockwood into Wuthering Heights in Chapter 2?
A young man without a coat, carrying a pitchfork (later identified as Hareton Earnshaw), leads him through the back of the house into the kitchen.
What does Lockwood mistake for cats in Chapter 2?
He mistakes a heap of dead rabbits on a cushion for a group of cats, embarrassing himself in front of Catherine Heathcliff.
What incorrect assumptions does Lockwood make about the household relationships?
He first assumes young Catherine is Heathcliff's wife, then guesses that Hareton is her husband. Both guesses are wrong.
Why is Lockwood unable to leave Wuthering Heights at the end of Chapter 2?
A heavy snowstorm has buried the roads, making travel dangerous. Heathcliff refuses to provide a guide or proper lodging.
What happens when Lockwood seizes Joseph's lantern and tries to escape?
Two large dogs attack him at the door, knock him down, and extinguish the light. He suffers a nosebleed while Heathcliff and Hareton laugh.
Who rescues Lockwood after the dog attack in Chapter 2?
Zillah, the stout housekeeper, comes out to investigate, splashes cold water on him, gives him brandy, and puts him to bed.
How does Emily Bronte physically describe young Catherine Heathcliff in Chapter 2?
She is slender, scarcely past girlhood, with small features, very fair skin, golden or flaxen ringlets, and eyes that express scorn and desperation.
What is Hareton Earnshaw's demeanor when Lockwood first encounters him?
Hareton is rough and rude in dress and speech, with thick brown curls and work-worn hands, but he carries himself with a free, almost haughty bearing.
How does Joseph respond when Lockwood first arrives at the door in Chapter 2?
Joseph refuses to help, tells Lockwood the master is in the fold, and says the "missis" will not open the door no matter how much noise he makes.
What does Heathcliff's behavior in Chapter 2 reveal about his character?
His savage tone with Catherine, his look of hatred toward her, his refusal to shelter Lockwood, and his laughter at Lockwood's suffering reveal a cruel and oppressive nature.
How does Catherine Heathcliff frighten Joseph in Chapter 2?
She pretends to practice witchcraft, claiming she will model people in wax and clay and that the red cow did not die by chance, sending the superstitious old servant fleeing in horror.
How does Chapter 2 develop the theme of social class and hierarchy?
Lockwood cannot determine who is master, servant, or family member at Wuthering Heights, showing how Heathcliff's household defies conventional social hierarchies.
What does Chapter 2 reveal about the theme of isolation and entrapment?
The locked gates, barred doors, attacking dogs, and blinding snowstorm all trap Lockwood at the Heights, suggesting that everyone within the household is imprisoned in some way.
How does Chapter 2 contrast civilization and wildness?
Lockwood's polite social manners are completely useless at Wuthering Heights, where hostility, silence, and violence replace the hospitality he expects as a Victorian gentleman.
What does Catherine's comment "They wouldn't let me go to the end of the garden wall" reveal?
It reveals that she is essentially a prisoner at Wuthering Heights, confined by the household and unable to leave even the immediate grounds.
What is the significance of the King Lear allusion at the end of Chapter 2?
Lockwood compares his own impotent threats to King Lear's, adding humor while linking his powerlessness to Shakespeare's tragedy about disinherited authority and familial cruelty.
How does Bronte use dramatic irony in Chapter 2?
The reader recognizes that Lockwood's assumptions about family relationships are absurdly wrong, creating comic tension that reveals the household's dysfunction before Lockwood himself understands it.
What role does the weather imagery play as a literary device in Chapter 2?
The progression from mist to snow to blinding storm mirrors Lockwood's deepening entrapment and functions as a gothic device to heighten the atmosphere of danger and isolation.
What does "churlish" mean as used in Chapter 2?
Churlish means rude, surly, or unfriendly. Lockwood uses it to describe the inhospitality of the Heights's inhabitants.
What does "taciturn" mean in the context of Chapter 2?
Taciturn means habitually silent or reserved in speech. Lockwood uses it to describe the grim silence during the meal at Wuthering Heights.
What does "moroseness" mean in Chapter 2?
Moroseness means a sullen, gloomy, or ill-tempered disposition. Bronte uses it to describe Heathcliff's habitual mood after his brief amusement at Lockwood's expense.
Who says "My name is Hareton Earnshaw, and I'd counsel you to respect it" and why is it significant?
Hareton Earnshaw says this to Lockwood. It reveals his fierce pride in his family name despite his degraded social position, foreshadowing his importance to the Earnshaw family legacy.
What is revealed when Heathcliff says "her spirit has taken the post of ministering angel"?
This sarcastic remark reveals that Heathcliff's wife is dead, and hints at his complex, bitter feelings about her loss, foreshadowing the novel's central obsession with death and the supernatural.
What does Catherine mean when she says "I'll have you all modelled in wax and clay"?
She is pretending to practice witchcraft to frighten the superstitious Joseph, threatening to make voodoo-like effigies. It shows her spirited defiance and dark humor as a way of coping with her miserable situation.